Supercar investment: the ones to watch

Supercar investment: the ones to watch

Published:5:55 amJune 6, 2018

The inside track on which supercars might bring the best â€“ and maybe the worst â€“ financial rewards

Simon Fragopoulosâ€™s supercar and classic car dealership specialises in tracking down cars around the world, putting collectors in the frame for the purchase of limited edition cars, and organising shipping, storage, and parts for supercars, classic, race and rally cars.

The Swiss-based car broker makes a living from knowing which supercars are going to increase in value and which are probably past their prime. Hereâ€™s his assessment on whatâ€™s hot and whatâ€™s not right now.

Letâ€™s start with the top 5 risers.

Porsche 911 991.2 Speedster

The next Speedster will be the last 991-series 911. It will mark the 911â€™s 70th birthday and, based on the limited number of 997-generation Speedsters made (just 356), is almost certain to attract a six-figure premium in Euros over the estimated list price of 230,000 Euros, including taxes â€“Â but that will change if Porsche decides to increase the production run.

McLaren Senna

Some early adopters were reportedly talking to McLaren about cancelling their orders after the first preview of the Senna, but that trend has stopped now that customers are better informed about the car. With the first vehicles likely to be delivered in July, buyers are happy to pay a premium of 200-300k Euros on top of list.

Ferrari 488 Pista

Binding contracts havenâ€™t been sent out to all buyers yet, so itâ€™s hard to be exact about the outlook for the new 488 Pista, but peak premiums of 150-200k Euros on top of list are likely to be achieved.

Ferrari 488 Speciale Aperta

Due to be released at either the October 2018 Paris motor show or at Geneva next March, the restricted-run 488 Pista convertible should attract premiums of 200,000 Euros or more above list.

Ferrari Enzo

While the LaFerrari is beginning to drop in value as it’s no longer really â€˜newâ€™, the 400 Ferrari Enzos built between 2002 and 2004 are on the up. Low miles, top condition European examples have increased from their early-mid 2017 range of 1.4-1.7 million Euro (inc VAT) to a 2018 range of 1.7-2.1 million Euros.

And now letâ€™s take a look at the â€˜softeningâ€™ supercars.

Porsche 991.2 GT2RS

At their 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed launch, GT2RS buyers were paying 150k Euros over list. Now you have to invest 70-80k Euros on top of list for an open configuration build slot and actual cars struggle to make the same premium. Itâ€™s believed that Porsche may be about to announce a production number of between 3000 and 6500 units which will further depress prices. Delivery mileage cars may even be available at list price within the next few months.

Ferrari LaFerrari

LaFerrari prices have dropped from a peak of 2.8 million Euros net to around 2.4 million Euros net between 2016 and 2018. A continued reduction in demand should bring this down to around 2-2.2 million Euros net of tax for low-mile cars. Still, remembering its list price of around 1 million Euros net of tax, it remains a very good investment, with the F80 successor not due until 2023.

Bugatti Chiron

One Chiron did sell at a 2018 Paris auction for 3.3 million Euros including fees, but in general Chiron buyers are less ready to pay big premiums now. Early examples did make between 3.1 and 3.5 million Euros net in 2017, but available off-market cars today rarely make 3 million Euros, representing a sub-500,000 Euro premium on the list price of 2.5 million Euros. Buyers are instead looking at upcoming hypercars like the Mercedes-AMG Project One or the BP23 McLaren, due later this year.

Mercedes-Benz Maybach G650 Landaulet

As with the Porsche GT2RS, top prices were paid for early deliveries shipping in December 2017 and early 2018, with mainly Middle East collectors paying up to 400,000 Euros extra. Now, most of the 99 units are either already delivered or coming soon, so premiums have reduced in line with lower demand to a new level of around 150-200k Euros.

Ferrari 599 GTO

Low mileage examples of the 599 GTO lost value from 500,000 Euros to 400,000 Euros when the Ferrari F12 TdF was released, the TdF being seen as quicker, more sophisticated, and more entertaining. With the limited edition of the new 812 Superfast being due in 2019/2020, Simon expects the downward trend to continue for the 599, probably bottoming out in 2020. After that, however, he thinks it will pick up again as buyers remember itâ€™s still a limited run V12 Ferrari that should be in every collection of fine Ferraris.